Legal tools to build conservation in the Mesoamerican Reef

ELAW Associate Director Lori Maddox participated in a podcast with the Mesoamerican Reef Leadership Program entitled: “MAR Vision: Legal tools to build conservation.” Lori talks about the importance of enforcing environmental laws and regulations, and about fundamental problems in enforcement, including inadequate funding for enforcement agencies, and short-sighted development policies. She also talks about the importance of meaningful environmental impact assessments BEFORE project approval, and monitoring and compliance oversight once projects are operating. She comments on some specific legal “tools” that have been used in the region, and highlights efforts to erode environmental regulation. You can listen to the podcast via this link.